Always a Blogsmaid

Wishpotting on a Star

Always a Blogsmaid was asked to be a Wishpot Expert and after A LOT of time, we've slowly been building our fantasy registry for wedding presents, wedding items, gifts for Bridal Party, parents and more.  It's a constant work in progress (and Mayra's FAVORITE office hobby) but I hope you'll check it out.

If you aren't familiar with Wishpot, it's a great online registry for weddings (of course) and more- birthdays, housewarmings you name it.  It's a free service that enables you to really add finds from everywhere, not just the big name stores, and share your wants and wishes with your family.

Here are some of the items we have on our fantasy registry.....

Taking a few days off and heading out to the West Side! Hope everybody has an awesome weekend and enjoys the end of summer (I can't believe it!!!) For more blog thoughts, check out what's new at Nearly Wed...

Brideshead Revisted

A few weeks ago I asked Mayra to come see Brideshead Revisited with me and "stole 2 hours of her life that she will never be able to get back on a beautiful Saturday afternoon".  The movie was, in my opinion, awful.  However, it was revealing to me that the name of my favorite veil designer's company wasn't just a clever name, but named AFTER a book that inspired a mediocre film.   Bride's Head Revisited has been re-inventing bridal head gear for several years now- from feathers and pins to french veils (that are soo soo chic). They just recently opened their flagship boutique here in NY at The Wedding Library, which I thought was a good reason to share some love for their fabulous veils.

Out Out Damn Spot!

The Q: What do we do if I get a stain on my wedding dress?

Whenever I can unpretentiously quote Shakespeare in a blog post, I'm secretly thrilled.  This weekend, we happily worked on the wedding of Debbie and Sonny- an awesome couple who married at a scenic golf course in one of 3 wedding celebrations!    I got the call I dread though before they even left the hotel room!  There was a spot, a GREASY spot, on one of the bridesmaids dresses.  I thought, it would be a great service to offer a mini lesson (from Martha Stewart) on how to treat spots on most wedding fabrics!

* Grease Stains/Oil - For an oily mark, blot with talcum powder.  For a greasier mess, try using rubbing alcohol on the area. For a bridesmaids dress (not a white bridal gown) if this doesn't work, use DAWN dishwashing liquid.
* Ink Stains.  Evaluate how bad the stain is.  Hairspray and a toothbrush works, but I would just let things lie on your wedding dress.
*Make up- CLUB SODA!!!!
* Chalk!  Sometimes chalk can delicately cover up a mark of dirt, at least long enough to get you down the aisle.
* You should avoid (on most wedding gowns or bridesmaids gowns) bleach pens, or anything like that which might damage the fabric.

Do you have any great tips to share for stain removal?

Cultural Connections

As I try and recover from post-vacation trauma (you know, the full voicemail, the full inbox, the seemingly endless to-do list), I've been ruminating on my favorite of all wedding traditions- the Horah.  It's just so much fun.  It causes a lot of my inter-faith couples stress though because they are often stressed that people who don't know HOW to participate won't, thus making it a bit weird.  I thought this video was pretty entertaining in terms of what a good Horah needs- some strong arms to lift the chairs.

OMG, I'm Obsessed with Tabitha

Ladies, I was returning from my little sojourn today so I didn't get to post, but I came home in time to watch "Tabitha's Salon Takeover". I felt guilty that I wasn't watching the Olympics, but now that beach volleyball and swimming are over, I don't really know where I fall in the scheme of Olympic things.

Anyways, this is NWR, but I can't believe how fabulously horrible Tabitha is on this show. Maybe it's my secret desire to be a hairdresser (considering my obsession with my stylist, not so secret) or maybe it's my love of small business.. I don't know. But she basically takes over these salons (read: to me, small businesses) and tough loves them into shape. And I mean tough....

Since I didn't offer any wedding advice here today ladies, please check out my post on seating chart how tos at Real Simple if you have a free moment.

No Photos Please!

The Q:    I have one quick question I'm hoping  you can help with!
One of my biggest pet peeves at weddings is when guests become too focused on taking pictures with their own cameras...especially during the ceremony.  I've seen guests get out of their seats and cause a distraction during the ceremony, just to get a picture for themselves. Now that I'm planning a wedding of my own, how on earth do I politely let my guests know that I want them to relax and enjoy the wedding instead of acting like a bunch of rouge photographers?!  Especially since we plan on having two great photographers present!  Our ceremony will be short, so I don't plan on making programs, or else that might be a good place to get the message out.  Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

The A:  This is a tough one, because it's hard to tell people what to do in a polite way, especially with no program.  I hear what you are saying though, especially in this age of digital photography when professionals can often make their photos available online. 

The only two options option you really have, and I don't know that either will be adhered to or well received, is an announcement or signage.   You could have your officiant or some other person announce prior to the ceremony that they would like to ask guests to refrain from taking flash photos during the ceremony, but the bride and groom will make the photographers photos available to their guests in the near future?  Or you can place signage at the entrance or near your guest book or escort table (if those are around) that asks guests to refrain from using flash photography during the ceremony.

Asking to refrain from flash is a much more polite way of saying "don't take any pictures at all please".

Kiddie Questions

The Q: I am marrying a man with two youngish children. They are 8 and 10. Obviously, it's important that they be a part of our wedding day and to make them more comfortable, I thought it would be nice for them to each invite a friend to the reception. However, other than that, we want an adult party. My fiance thinks that people will be offended that they couldn't bring their children, but that we still had 4 kids running around the party. What do you think?

The A: Unfortunately, I think he is right. But, I don't know that you need to care too much, if you don't mind being "talked about". It's your right to make your stepchildren comfortable and your right to have adults only (other than these 4 children), but because it's inconsistent, you should be prepared for criticism. Basically, if etiquette tells us anything, it is to be consistent. Adult reception should mean no children. However, your stepchildren will be incorporated (or should be) into your reception in some way AND it's a big day for them and having a friend around will ease their anxiety as well. So, my bottom line response to you is this: your position is not etiquettely correct, but I don't disagree with you. My guess is that your sensible guests won't disagree either.

Escaping the City

Ladies, we had a knock out wedding this weekend that we planned and designed (some really horrible camera phone shots below of the escort card table and the centerpieces- they were blocks of ice with flowers frozen inside of them). Since we're in between weddings I thought I'd hop out of town for a bit to spend some time with the family, so pardon my erratic posts for the next couple of days.

Ok, below, really blurry photos of an escort card tree (the trick here is to have someone nearby to help someone find their cards) and the ice block centerpieces!

Mad about Magpies

Quick post today as it is a nutty day for a wedding planner! I have a wedding tomorrow (my bride that I'm having separation anxiety about) and then did a site visit with a new client at an AMAZING venue here in New York (more on that next week), and off to a rehearsal this afternoon, but I started to do a post on some cool invites I've seen lately when I got the nicest email from Lorraine:

I LOVE your blog and already checked out your real simple post, congrats!! That is so awesome!! Your blog is a daily read for me as I am planning my wedding. I almost jumped out of my seat when I saw the aqua + brown + red post. Since I want aqua and red but our venue has a lot of dark wood inside...I wasn't sure how it would turn out. When working on my invitations, Jeannine at Blue Magpie was extremely encouraging and found samples of stationary and fabrics with those colors right away. I even got the paint chips and made an inspiration board. So I wanted to tip you off to one of the coolest invitation companies ever!! ...........

First, I appreciate the blog love, and secondly, I know it seems I've been full of compliments lately (and maybe not enough question answering) but she was NOT kidding! Blue Magpie does amazing custom invitations and some pre-fabricated designs all incorporating BEAUTIFUL, and unique, fabric wrapped enclosures. These are surprising, tactile and lovely. She breaks her designs into Classic, Contemporary, Formal and Asian Styles.
Here is my favorite of each line!